Woman killed by SF truck identified as outrage grows

Updated 8:23 am, Saturday, September 7, 2013

Outrage from residents and city officials escalated Friday as questions swirled over how a San Francisco parks employee apparently violated a city policy, tore across a bucolic park lawn in a city pickup truck and fatally ran down a mother who was enjoying the day with her baby and dog.

Thomas Burnoski, 57, is believed to have struck Christine Svanemyr of Daly City while she was lying in the grass with her baby and dog at Holly Park in Bernal Heights. Burnoski was booked into San Francisco County Jail late Thursday on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.

Svanemyr, a Zen monk and life coach, was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her baby and dog are unhurt, police report.

"It's really upsetting to me that this woman is dead now," said Bernal Heights resident Rachel Bonnefil, who visits Holly Park every day to walk her dog. "It's always seemed to me that it's against policies to drive like they do. But it's a routine thing."

The San Francisco Police Department released few details Friday on its investigation into Svanemyr's death. Burnoski has been placed on administrative leave without pay.

Photo: Associated Press

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This image provided by Joy Mazzola shows Christine Svanemyr, a victim of a hit and run incident Thursday Sept. 5, 2013 in San Francisco. Authorities say Svanemyr, her baby and dog were on the grass when a maintenance vehicle from the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department hit her and left the scene. Police say 57-year-old Thomas Burnoski of San Francisco was taken into custody Friday in connection with Thursday's incident. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Joy Mazzola) less

This image provided by Joy Mazzola shows Christine Svanemyr, a victim of a hit and run incident Thursday Sept. 5, 2013 in San Francisco. Authorities say Svanemyr, her baby and dog were on the grass when a ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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The San Francisco Police Department released this photo of Thomas Burnoski, 57, an employee of the city Recreation and Parks Department, who is accused of running over and killing 35-year-old Christine Svanemyr while she was lying on the grass at Holly Park in the Bernal Heights neighborhood, then driving away from the scene in his city-owned truck. less

The San Francisco Police Department released this photo of Thomas Burnoski, 57, an employee of the city Recreation and Parks Department, who is accused of running over and killing 35-year-old Christine Svanemyr ... more

Photo: Sfpd

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A memorial has been put up at Holly Park for Christine Svanemyr, who was run over while lying on the grass with her baby.

A memorial has been put up at Holly Park for Christine Svanemyr, who was run over while lying on the grass with her baby.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

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Neighbor Emi Tomijima places flowers and a note to the Daly City woman's family on the memorial in the park.

Neighbor Emi Tomijima places flowers and a note to the Daly City woman's family on the memorial in the park.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

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An envelope with a note to the family of Christine Svanemyr rests on a memorial at Holly Park in S.F.'s Bernal Heights.

An envelope with a note to the family of Christine Svanemyr rests on a memorial at Holly Park in S.F.'s Bernal Heights.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Woman killed by SF truck identified as outrage grows

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No spotter in place

Sarah Ballard, a spokeswoman for the Recreation and Park Department, said she couldn't comment on an open investigation, but said the department's vehicle policy is that workers are never allowed to drive on park pathways, sidewalks, closed roads or the actual park area "merely for convenience purposes."

"If work requirements necessitate operating a city vehicle on a park-scape or other surface not designed for vehicle operation, utilize a staff person outside the vehicle to serve as a safety watch or otherwise guide vehicle movement," the policy reads.

No spotter was in place, according to police reports, and the site of the collision was well off any roadway.

"It was definitely on the grassy areas. It didn't have a sidewalk near it or a pathway," said police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza. Svanemyr was on the southeast end of the park when she was hit.

Driver training required

Ballard said employees who operate Rec and Park's 707 vehicles, which include mowers, cars and trucks, must complete training every two years. The department's vehicles include 312 road vehicles that travel more than 1 million miles a year.

Police said Burnoski left the park after hitting the woman but was detained by police several blocks away and taken to Ingleside Station for questioning.

Results of drug and alcohol tests are pending. Ballard said Burnoski has been an employee of the parks department since 2006.

Burnoski, who has been cited for talking on a cell phone while driving, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, has no recent criminal record. His daughter died in a car accident in April, according to newspaper reports.

In February, Bonnefil filed a complaint about Holly Park on Parkscan.org, a website that allows residents to submit their observations about parks to the city, contending that the drivers routinely used the pedestrian paths and went too fast. Other neighbors contacted at Holly Park after Svanemyr's death echoed her concerns.

Bonnefil said her complaint got no response from the city, but Ballard said a driver in those incidents had been fired.

Rec and Park officials said that they've received just four official complaints over the past two years about poor driving by employees. Bonnefil's complaint was one of two for Holly Park.

'Sick to my stomach'

Supervisor David Campos, whose district includes Holly Park, said Svanemyr's death "makes me sick to my stomach." He said he was angry to hear that the park department did not respond to a complaint.

"When it comes to park safety, you're thinking about a number of things, but the last thing you think of is that someone who works there is going to end up hurting someone who's there simply to enjoy the park," Campos said. "It's hard to fathom how something like that could happen."

Parks General Manager Phil Ginsburg released a statement Friday expressing condolences to family and friends of Svanemyr.

"This is a devastating day for all," he said. "The Recreation and Park Department is cooperating fully with the San Francisco Police Department as they investigate this accident." Ginsburg declined a request for an interview.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee called for a review of complaints about park employees, according to a spokeswoman for the mayor, and Lee met with police and park officials Friday.

"Parks are a place where people should feel safe," said spokeswoman Christine Falvey, adding that the mayor was committed to making sure something like this would not happen again.

Svanemyr was an ordained Zen monk working as the director of development for New Ventures West, an integral coaching company that helps people meet their full potential in life, according to the company's website.

She graduated from West Virginia University with degrees in anthropology, sociology and ecotourism and recreation management. She was a lifelong dancer who once performed at the World Cup in South Korea as part of the professional African dance group Azagano.

Born in October 2012

Her daughter, Isa Amalie, was born in October 2012. The company website said Svanemyr regarded the girl as "her greatest joy and teacher."

"Christy now understands her monk vows in a entirely new way," her profile states. "It's no longer a good idea to 'save all sentient beings' but her responsibility to try to do as much as possible to make this world a kinder, gentler place for our sons and daughters to be in."

In addition to her daughter, Svanemyr leaves her husband, Vegar Svanemyr.

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